Aberdeen are beginning to deliver the attacking, entertaining football at Pittodrie that boss Jim Goodwin promised.
Goodwin splashed out in excess of £1.5 million in transfer fees in a summer transfer window overhaul.
The Reds gaffer gutted an under-performing team that finished 10th in the Premiership last season – and then rebuilt.
Goodwin’s plan was to deliver exciting football for the Red Army and more bang for the supporters’ hard-earned buck.
With 15 goals in four Premiership games at Pittodrie, the Reds are delivering on that vow in the Granite City.
Now they also have to reproduce that on the road having taken just four points from four Premiership away games.
Yet at Pittodrie they are dangerous. Aberdeen have scored more home league goals than any other club in the Premiership.
Defending champions Celtic have netted just eight at Parkhead with Rangers scoring 12 at Ibrox.
The Dons’ only aberration so far at home was a 3-2 loss to Motherwell.
Miovski second top Premiership scorer
Other than that blip the Reds are blowing away teams at home in the league.
They racked up a 5-0 defeat of Livingston and have beaten both St Mirren and Kilmarnock 4-1.
The potency of Aberdeen’s attack is shown by the battle Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes has to get into the starting line-up.
Lopes had netted in each of the three previous games but still dropped to the bench against Kilmarnock.
North Macedonian international striker Bojan Miovski retained his starting slot and delivered a double.
Miovski has now netted seven Premiership goals and is second in the league scoring charts.
He is only one goal behind Antonio-Mirko Colak of Rangers who leads the way on eight goals.
Miovski will make Dons a fortune
Miovski cost Aberdeen £535, 000 from Hungarian club MTK Budapest in the summer.
Scoring form like Miovksi’s will not go unnoticed by other clubs.
However, the Dons are in control of any future situation as he is contracted until summer 2026
What is clear is if Miovski continues this goal return he will eventually make the Dons a fortune.
Such is Goodwin’s attacking options he can replace Miovski with Duk from the bench.
He also has Marley Watkins and Christian Ramirez, who netted 15 goals last season, to call upon if needed.
This game marked the return to Pittodrie of former manager Derek McInnes for the first time since he was axed in March 2021.
McInnes led Aberdeen to League Cup glory in 2014, a further three cup finals and regular European qualification.
He was given a warm reception by Aberdeen supporters on his return.
First start of the season for Watkins
There were two changes to the Aberdeen side that crashed 3-1 away at Hibs prior to the international break.
One was enforced with centre-back Liam Scales suspended having been controversially dismissed following a second yellow card against Hibs.
Duk dropped to the bench and there was a surprise first start of the season for attacker Marley Watkins.
The 31-year-old Welsh international had played just 18 minutes in the Premiership this season.
Watkins last started for Aberdeen in a 0-0 draw with St Mirren at Pittodrie on May 15 last season.
Northern Ireland international winger Matty Kennedy also returned to the starting-line up.
Another big call from boss Jim Goodwin was to move Ross McCrorie from midfield into the centre-back role opened up by Scales’ suspension.
McCrorie produced a rock solid performance to underline his versatility.
Aberdeen hit quick-fire double
Aberdeen went ahead in the 22nd minute.
The move was started by a superb Kennedy step-over to open up space near the half-way line.
Kennedy then fed a pass wide to Jonny Hayes who burst down the left before crossing into the box.
The cross was poked clear as far as Vicente Besuijen who raced onto the ball and unleashed a low 12 yard drive beyond keeper Zach Hemming.
Aberdeen doubled their advantage just two minutes later when Miovski was brought down by keeper Hemming in the box.
Miovski confidently converted from the spot kick for his seventh goal of the season.
In a kinetic spell Kilmarnock hit back when former Dons defender Ash Taylor met a Liam Polwarth corner and glanced a header beyond Kelle Roos in the 27th minute.
It underlined a vulnerability at set-piece deliveries into the box.
It was 3-1 in the 45th minute when Coulson burst into the penalty area and delivered a low cross from the left byline.
North Macedonian international striker Miovski was well placed to meet the cross.
His first shot was blocked by Wright but he fired in with a left footed close range shot from the rebound.
Captain Stewart heads in for fourth
In the 63rd minute a 25-yard Watkins drive was pushed wide by keeper Hemming.
From the resultant corner whipped in by Hayes, captain Anthony Stewart raced onto the cross and fired a bullet header home from 10 yards.
In the 80th minute teenage centre-back Milne was taken on for his Premiership debut, having previously featured in the Premier Sports Cup.
ABERDEEN (4-4-2): Roos 7; Coulson 8, McCrorie 7, Stewart 7, Richardson 7; Hayes 7 (Milne 80), Ramadani 7, Besuijen 7 (Ramirez 80), Kennedy 7 (Duncan 80); Watkins 7 (Morris 66), Miovski 7 (‘Duk’ Lopes 66)
Subs: Lewis, MacKenzie, Polvara, Lobban.
KILMARNOCK (4-2-3-1): Hemming 5; Chriseene 5, Mayo 5, Taylor 5, Wright 5; Power 6 (Warnock 81), Lyons 5 (McKenzie 64); Shaw 5, Polwarth 5 (Alston 70), Jones 5 (Armstrong 64), Doidge 5 (Cameron 64)
Subs: Walker, Dorsett, McInroy, Lafferty.
Referee: Kevin Clancy
Attendance: 16, 348
Man of the match: Hayden Coulson
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